Seyyid Battal Gazi: Legend, Tomb, and Turkish Movies

Battal Gazi: The Legend

When Christians and Muslims were vying for control of the Near East, Seyyid Battal Gazi was an Arab armed forces commander who lived in the 8th century at a time. His real-life exploits were conflated with tale in the literary impressive “Battalname,” where he cavorts with mythological beings and possesses supernatural powers in his resist the infidel. Throughout the golden age of Turkish movie theater, his adventures were dramatized in a collection of very popular movies.

The Tomb of Battal Gazi

The large facility has several fascinating features, yet without a question the celebrity attraction is the burial place of Battal Gazi. Spiffed up with brand-new rug and a fresh layer of paint in 2022, the spacious octagonal space includes his long (8.5 meter) wood coffin, covered by a black chadar with elaborate Arabic calligraphic needlework. Following to the Gazi is his women companion, Elenora, with a normal human-sized coffin.

His remains currently supposedly rest in a fortress-like facility that climbs majestically on a hill over the community of Seyitgazi, housing numerous tombs and a mosque, in addition to an inoperative madrasa, soup kitchen, and dervish lodge. According to the tale, the gravesite was discovered by a shepherd in the very early 13th century, that revealed it to Ümmühan Hatun, the wealthy mom of a Seljuk sultan, to whom Battal Gazi had shown up in a dream entreating her to construct him a tomb. This she did, and both she and the guard, Çoban Baba, were later on entombed at the same site.